A number of mechanisms for mounting mirrors in laser resonators have been developed. Many of these mechanisms include a means for adjusting the position of the mirror with respect to the laser beam so that the alignment of the beam can be varied. Alignment of the beam is particularly important for adjusting the output parameters of the laser. In addition, an adjustable mirror mount can be used to fine tune the angle of the output beam so that it can be properly directed.
One example of an adjustable mirror mount can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,818,089 issued Apr. 4, 1989 to Mefferd, assigned to the same assignee as the subject invention. The mirror mount described therein includes a one piece cylindrical gimbal ring having four flexure areas spaced 90.degree. apart around the circumference thereof. These four flexure areas define two pivot axes which intersect at the center of the ring. By translating adjustment screws along an axis perpendicular to the mirror face, the angle of the mirror face can be varied.
The gimbal ring mirror mount described in the latter application is highly accurate and can be arranged such that the position of the center point of the mirror face does not vary substantially as the angle of the mirror is changed. The latter feature allows the alignment of the beam to be varied without significantly changing the length of the resonant cavity.
While the latter mirror mount is highly accurate and sophisticated, it is relatively costly to manufacture. As can be appreciated, a number of fabrication steps are required in order to machine the gimbal ring. Therefore, it would be desireable to provide a mirror mount which provides the advantages of a gimbal ring type of device but at lower cost.
Accordingly, it is an object of the subject invention to provide a new and improved mirror mount which is easy to fabricate.
It is another object of the subject invention to provide an improved adjustable mirror mount having high sensitivity.
It is still a further object of the subject invention to provide a new and improved mirror mount capable of dual axis adjustment.
It is still another object of the subject invention to provide a new and improved mirror mount which can be fabricated using standard parts for the motion drive components.
It is still a further object of the subject invention to provide a new and improved mirror mount which permits the adjustment screws to be mounted coplanar with the fixed plate and at the outer side edges thereof.
It is still another object of the subject invention to provide a mirror mount where the spring can be mounted at the centroid of a moveable plate.